Episode Summary
In Episode 19, Wei Liang's crush on Xiao Tao becomes evident when he gifts her a treasured small weapon. Wei Shao, initially clueless about Xiao Qiao's preferences for gifts, finally has a breakthrough when he gives her a hairpin, genuinely pleasing her. To spend more time with Wei Shao, Xiao Qiao enlists Yang Feng's help to delay their departure by feigning a need to retrieve books from Pan Yi. Meanwhile, Bi Zhi gets injured trying to pick sour plums for Da Qiao, leading Da Qiao to declare him as Qiao family's son-in-law to protect him from Xue Tai. Later, a scheme by Wei Liang and Wei Qu to make Xiao Qiao "disappear" to worry Wei Shao backfires slightly but results in Wei Shao finding Xiao Qiao helping refugees; he then offers them aid and a place in Pan Yi. This incident leads to Wei Shao becoming very protective of Xiao Qiao. The episode ends with Qiao Yue planning more political marriages, much to Qiao Ci's dismay.
Spoiler Alert
It all kicks off with Wei Liang, who apparently treasures this small weapon like it's the last cookie in the jar. In a move that screams "I have a massive crush," he hands it over to Xiao Tao. She, playing it cool (or maybe genuinely curious), asks why he’s giving it to her. Wei Liang, bless his flustered heart, can't quite spit out the words and basically forces it on her for "safekeeping." Xiao Tao, clearly thrilled, scurries off, all smiles.
Of course, Wei Liang’s three brothers—Wei Qu and the gang—witnessed this entire adorable exchange. They immediately corner Wei Liang, teasing him relentlessly about eating his words. Remember how he swore he wouldn't marry a Qiao family girl? Well, look at him now, head over heels for Xiao Tao! Wei Liang tries to bribe his way out of their teasing with his salary, but his brothers are having none of it and jokingly threaten to toss him in the water. Brotherly love, right?
Meanwhile, Wei Shao is waiting for Xiao Qiao to go buy some festive trinkets when he spots a flustered Xiao Tao returning, clutching the very weapon he’d given to Wei Liang. Before he can interrogate her, Xiao Qiao, who’s clearly figured things out, whisks him away. Out on the street, she spills the tea: Wei Liang is crushing hard on Xiao Tao. Wei Shao has an "aha!" moment and says he’s cool with it. After all, he married Xiao Qiao, and now Xiao Tao is practically family, even helping with canal repairs. This, unexpectedly, ticks Xiao Qiao off.
She storms ahead, and Wei Shao, trying to get her a gift, trails after her. He notices she’s buying all the things his four brothers had helped pick out earlier – stuff he’d dismissed as too "vulgar" for her, opting instead for a grand gesture of 500 warhorses. When he sees Xiao Qiao fiddling with a hairpin, he still can't believe she'd like something so simple, insisting she must prefer the warhorses. Xiao Qiao, still miffed, retorts that she indeed doesn't like the hairpin.
Back home, Xiao Qiao is fuming about Wei Shao’s cluelessness. Xiao Tao, on the other hand, is over the moon with her little weapon, telling Xiao Qiao that Wei Shao had it made based on his brothers' preferences. This hits Xiao Qiao hard – it’s not that Wei Shao doesn’t know how to give gifts, it’s that he doesn’t know how to give her gifts. Maybe it's her own failing, she wonders. Just then, Wei Shao walks in, arms full of the gifts Xiao Qiao bought, knowing they were for Xu Fu Ren and others. Then, like a romantic hero finally getting a clue, he pulls out a hairpin he just bought and gives it to Xiao Qiao. This time, her happiness is genuine.
Xiao Qiao thinks Wei Shao is getting a bit better at this romance thing, but he’s not quite there yet. So, she secretly summons Yang Feng and asks him to help them stay a few more days so she can spend more time with Wei Shao. The next day, as Yang Feng is seeing Wei Shao and his group off, he "conveniently" remembers he forgot his water conservancy books and asks Wei Shao to fetch them from Pan Yi. Xiao Qiao chimes in, mentioning all the good deeds they did in Pan Yi last time and how she’d love to go back. Wei Shao agrees, and the look he gives Xiao Qiao is definitely a little different.
Over in Bo Ya, things take a dramatic turn. Bi Zhi notices Da Qiao craving sour plums and goes off to pick some for her. Unfortunately, he runs into Xue Tai's men and gets injured. When he wakes up, his first concern is whether Da Qiao got her plums. Da Qiao, heartbroken, hadn't eaten any. At Bi Zhi's urging, she tries one, tears streaming down her face as she says it’s delicious. But then she declares she’ll never eat sour plums again. All she wants is a peaceful life with Bi Zhi. If he were an ordinary man, he wouldn’t be in such danger. She wishes they could leave together. Bi Zhi, however, says he doesn't want to be a commander but yearns for her family's acceptance, especially Xiao Qiao's, so Da Qiao can be truly happy. Moved, Da Qiao immediately decides to publicly announce that Bi Zhi is the Qiao family's son-in-law and thus connected to the Wei state, hoping this will deter Xue Tai.
Later, Xiao Qiao brings Wei Shao some snacks, hoping for a cozy moment. But Wei Liang interrupts, telling Wei Shao a road ahead is damaged and he needs to check out an alternate route. Xiao Qiao’s plan for more quality time is foiled, and she’s bummed. Xiao Tao blames Wei Liang, who promises to fix the situation. Having no brilliant ideas himself, he goes to Wei Qu and the others for help, even offering up his salary again.
Wei Qu comes up with a plan: make Xiao Qiao "disappear" to make Wei Shao worry. Wei Liang loves it! With Wei Qu’s help, they arrange for Xiao Qiao to wander off. Then, they rush to Wei Shao, acting all concerned, saying Xiao Qiao went for a walk and hasn't returned. They ham it up, suggesting she might be in danger. Wei Shao, genuinely worried, gets up to find her. But when they reach the woods, they find Wei Duo, who had been following Xiao Qiao, but Xiao Qiao herself is missing. Wei Duo thought Xiao Qiao was with Wei Liang’s group. Now Wei Shao is truly panicked and gallops off on his horse. He finds Xiao Qiao amidst a group of people,squatting down. In his haste and concern, Wei Shao doesn't really take in the surroundings, just pulls Xiao Qiao onto his horse. He then learns these people are displaced refugees, and Xiao Qiao was simply asking about their situation.
Wei Shao finds out they’d been driven from Liang Ya and Yan Zhou and were just looking for a place to build temporary shelters. The soil there isn't suitable, so Wei Shao suggests they go to Pan Yi, where they can live and farm like Wei citizens. Xiao Qiao seizes the moment to praise Wei Shao's benevolence, making the refugees admire him even more.
That night, as they set up camp, Wei Shao’s eyes are glued to Xiao Qiao. He won’t let her do anything alone, demanding she stay by his side. Xiao Qiao thinks he’s just being difficult, but Wei Shao possessively declares that from now on, she’s not allowed to leave his sight and make people worry. Xiao Qiao playfully apologizes for making Chun Niang worry. Wei Shao blurts out that Chun Niang isn't the one who's most worried. When Xiao Qiao presses him on who is the most worried, Wei Shao gets all shy and turns away. Xiao Qiao can't help but smile at this side of him.
Finally, we see Qiao Yue wanting to select beautiful women from various regions to send for political marriages. He believes that ever since Xiao Qiao married into Wei, relations between the two states have significantly improved, proving the effectiveness of this strategy. Qiao Ci is furious, blaming Zhang Pu for this idea and threatening to leave their "dirty" home. Zhang Pu tries to stop him but gets scolded by Qiao Yue for causing more trouble.
